In a multi-traced circuit, it is often desired that each electrical signal corresponding to each individual trace be kept electronically isolated from the other traces so as to maintain the integrity of each signal. However, oftentimes it is not practical that each trace be individually connected to a separate electronic device. Therefore, the need arises for an electrical connector that forms a single connection between a plurality of electrical traces and a separate electronic device without distorting the quality of the individual electrical signals. The need for such connectors has long been recognized in the medical field for connecting a plurality of electrocardiogram (ECG) leads to a separate device for capturing, storing, and analyzing the electrical signals sensed by a plurality of electrodes placed on a patient's chest. Previously, it was common to connect each ECG lead wire individually to a separate electronic device which often led to entanglement and confusion between the wires.
A serial port connector has been used to electrically connect a plurality of leads to a separate electronics device with only a single connection. A plurality of leads are combined to form a single information cable which is thereafter connected to a male portion of a serial connector comprised of a plurality of pins, each corresponding to a separate lead. The male portion is inserted into the pin recesses of a female counterpart that is located within the separate electronic device. Such a connection device is practically limited to electrical systems which utilize a plurality of lead wires that are physically moveable to one another and are not confined to a single plane. In a printed circuit or a circuit confined to a flat substrate, the electrical traces cannot easily be gathered to form a single information cable for input into a serial port connector. Furthermore, a printed circuit is limited to lying flat in one plane and therefore, a cable attached will have significant cable strain. Such a limitation is significant as there are a variety of applications in which a flat circuit is used to provide an electronic pathway between electrical components. For example, revolutionary ECG apparatuses have been disclosed which provide more comfort and mobility to the patient and a more stable configuration upon the patient's chest in the form of a flat, flexible chest patch. Integrated within the chest patch are several electrical traces originating from the electrode sensing means such that a conventional serial port connector is not a practical connection to a separate electronics device.
Typically with such flat circuits, the printed traces terminate along a common, flat trunk or terminal at one end of the circuit such that the traces are aligned adjacent to one another while still maintaining electrical isolation. The flat, printed circuit design is carried through to a connector plug that is attached to the end of the trunk. At the very end of the common trunk, the printed circuit traces ordinarily extend to corresponding contact strips or flat pins of a male connector portion. Where the contact strips lie, the insulating top surfaces of the flat substrate are ordinarily removed leaving the contact strips exposed along a support layer. These contact strips may also be printed conductors but may be formed of a different metal that is better suited for their insertion into a female connector socket located in a separate electrical device. Various mechanisms by which the male connector is inserted and held within the female socket have been disclosed. For example, the female socket may contain a plurality of spring contacts which mate with the contact strips upon insertion of the male connector. Clamps containing a series of teeth are biased into contact with the springs such that the springs are held against the inserted connector. Furthermore, the female socket may contain finger hooks which hook onto apertures that may be formed on the male connector thereby securing the male connector within the female socket. However, due to the fact that these insertion-type connectors require multi-part internal mechanisms for securing the connector at the female socket, they are complex to manufacture, hard to clean, and it is difficult to maintain a waterproof connection.
It is an object of this invention to provide a simpler mechanism for connection between a flexible, flat circuit that contains conductive electrical traces to a separate electronics device. The conductive traces terminate on the bottom of a female connector plug that contains one or more keyhole-shaped slots where each trace corresponds to one slot. Insert-molded pins corresponding to each of the keyhole-shaped slots are located on the surface of the body of a separate electronics device. Proximate to the pins are electrical contacts in the body's surface. The plug is placed over the pins such that the pins are inserted up through the wider portion of the slots and in a push or pull action, the pins are slid into the narrower portion of the slot such that the pins are locked into place. The conductive traces are then secured into contact with the electrical contacts of the separate electronics device. Therefore, all of the connecting parts are made by simple construction and are found on easily accessible, exterior surfaces of the plug and body rather than on an interior surface that is difficult to reach and hard to clean.
It is an object of this invention to provide a completely waterproof mechanism for connection between a flexible, flat circuit that contains conductive electrical traces to a separate electronics device. In the assembly described above, a single rubber gasket is placed on the surface of the body where the body contacts the plug thereby creating a completely waterproof fit between the plug and the body when in connection with one another. Due to the fact that the plug is connected to the body simply by sliding the plug in an overlapping configuration about the body surface such that the electrical contacting parts are sandwiched between the two surfaces, waterproofing is made easy by simply applying a gasket between the two surfaces.